Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Earlier last week Mahmooda
Mufti’s speech was being telecast live by India TV. I wanted to check where did she speak in the
vein that she did which appeared to be highly rational. I scanned all the
newspapers that I get – Hindi as well as English – but I could not find it
covered in any of them. The Times of India, of course, did not report it and
even The Hindu – a newspaper that reports in detail everything of national
interest uttered by a person of the stature of a chief minister – seemed to
have glossed over it

I do not recollect where Ms. Mufti was speaking but she was certainly
addressing a public meeting. After a curfew lasting 50-odd days or so she
appeared to be trying to look objectively at the entire situation prevailing in
the Kashmir Valley. In not trying to throw homilies at the people collected in
front, she was only trying to talk about the more-than-a-month long violence
that has brought all the social, economic, educational and political activities
to a standstill in the Valley.

Wondering how the problem flared
up after the killing of Burhan Wani, a Hizbul Mujahideen jehadi, she said
virtually every day there is some militant or the other is killed but this kind
of disturbances had never taken place before. For what happened earlier there
used to be a reason or two like in 2010 the alleged rape of two women in
Shopian which eventually was disproved as it was found to be an ordinary case
of drowning. But the Kashmiri separatists had whipped up an agitation which
lasted for days and the Valley was completely shut down. This time, however,
there was no reason for such an eruption. No Kashmiri innocent was killed as
the man killed was a militant – a potential killer of Kashmiri policemen or
Kashmiri innocents..

She thought this time it was not spontaneous as it appeared that a
certain amount of preparation had gone into it. Evidently, the organizers of
the violence were waiting for an opportunity to inflame passions and Wani
killing provided just the right one and was opportune. Obviously it was the
work of the separatists and their cohorts. She said, yes, police were also
violent but what could they do against dire provocations. “You snatch away
their guns and keep pelting stones on them”, she told the people assembled in
front of her, making them fear for their own lives. Under such circumstances
any security force would try to quell such ghastly civil violence using
whatever methods they could muster. In the process, some civilians were killed
but some from the police forces were also killed and a large number of them were
wounded.

What is more, she said the agitationists were using women and children as
shields. Children as young as 10 years old were wounded. Ms. Mufti wondered
what a 10-year old was doing in the agitation. If the child was hit by pellets
the blame should go to his parents who did not take care of him by keeping him
at home. Allowing the child to join violent demonstrations was not only unwise,
it was also criminal, presumably, as it was abetting violent demonstrations.

She repeated the same arguments at the press conference the other day
addressed jointly by her and the country’s home minister. She even got worked
up and appeared to be accusatory and snapped at a reporter bringing the conference
to a close. She apparently had caught on to the machinations of the separatists
who were till now not able to organize a long drawn-out confrontation. This
time, as is evident, a large number of militants have been pumped into the
Valley by Saiyed Salahuddin’s Hizbul Mujahideen, a proxy for the ISI of
Pakistan, located in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. A thousand of its trained
militants were claimed to be in the Valley and another thousand were waiting to
infiltrate at an opportune moment. The figures could be exaggerated as the
militants tend to exaggerate their prowess. But, there is no denying the fact
that it is the foreign militants, ably assisted by the mischievous separatists
Jeelani and Co., are behind this stretched out confrontation.

At the back of it, however, is
the ISI of Pakistan which is the mastermind of such disturbances. I have
immense faith in what AS Dulat has written in his “Kashmir – the Vajpayee
years” because he was one official who met and developed a kind of trust
amongst the militants about his bonafides. They would come to him and talk to
him about all things regarding Kashmir militancy. During one such conversation
a senior and influential militant had told him that at Dubai an ISI official
had told him that nothing happens in Kashmir without the ISI’s initiatives. It
is ISI that “Calls the shots in Kashmir”. From sending terrorists across the
borders to organizing chaos and mayhem, it is the ISI which does it all.
Everyone is, therefore, aware that the whole thing is inspired by the
Pakistanis and their agencies with the assistance of their proxies in Srinagar.
Only innocent Kashmiris are being used as cannon fodder.

Be that as it may, one can, nevertheless, fail to appreciate the
attitude of our so-called secular press. While The Times of India did not
report the speech of Mahmooda Mufti at a public meeting referred to earlier, it
reported in detail stretching across columns the alarming views on the present
unrest in Kashmir of Musaffir Hussain Baig, a former Dy. Chief Minister and a
mere member of Parliament from Mahmooda’s PDP. He has said that the local
“struggle” runs the risk of becoming a (kind of) religious extremism – of
losing its political goal and getting a “religious vision”. He seems to be
quite ill-informed as the separatists know their political goals are never
going to be achieved.

As Dulat has recorded, even President Musharraf, whom
they had met in Delhi, had told them there cannot be re-drawing of the
boundaries as India would never allow that. Hence they needed to change their
thinking. Besides mercifully, religious undertones are presently absent in the
movement. He sees a danger of the unrest becoming a part of the “international
struggle”. Perhaps, he is away from Kashmir, he seems, therefore to be utterly
out of depth with whatever is happening there. The newspaper, however, has
found it worthy of a long report with an eye-catching headline which, in fact,
is nothing but alarming. Being a member of parliament from the PDP perhaps such
a comment was not expected from him. If he harbours this kind of a perception
it would have been wiser for him to communicate it to Ms. Mufti instead of
airing his apprehensions in public through a newspaper column to set alarm
bells ringing.

The whole thing is nothing but Pakistan’s way of inflicting those
“thousand cuts” of Zia ul Haq on India. As Mahmooda repeatedly said it is the
5% of people, presumably the separatists, who create these problems. The
remaining 95% of Kashmiris want to live in peace and harmony. India has,
therefore, to ride out the present difficulties by being firm and dominate over
the disturbed areas.

Sunday, August 21, 2016

This year the monsoon has been rather severe. According to the latest
reports it has rained about 150% more than the long-term average of rainfall in
Bhopal. This was expected as the MET Office had forecast as far back as in
March above normal rainfall during the monsoons this year. Since then I knew we
would be having horrendous times with our Ridge Road which was in very bad
shape. Even some rural roads are better than it. It was so even around two
years back when the then newly-elected Mayor visited it. It was then that he
had promised that he would have such a road made here that one would be able to
dine off it – presumably using it as a full plate. Later, he made the same
statement elsewhere too which made it clear that he was another of those rotten
politicians who only made promises and did nothing. That, from all evidences,
is proving right.

It seems, when some of the residents had taken up the matter with the
Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) they were told that it would be prepared to
do up the road if the residents agreed to chip in with half the cost under
“Jan-bhagidari” scheme. The scheme involves people’s participation in financing
for creation of infrastructure. People are expected to contribute 50% of the
cost. This was a radical departure from what the Mayor had promised. The
members of the Ridge Road Association after agreeing to the proposal asked the
BMC to prepare estimates. There are many in Ridge Road who are familiar with
this kind of work having done such work themselves. Given the resources, they
would be willing to carry out the work and they would make a far better job of
it than the corrupt BMC. The Corporation prepared estimates of Rs. 50 lakh
which was agreed to with the condition that it should transfer 50% of its share
to the Association and that the work would be constructed under joint
monitoring.. This was not agreeable to the Corporation and the proposal fell
through. They wanted the Ridge Road share to be handed over to them and it
would be they who would build the road. Quite clearly, they were not prepared
to miss out on their cut(s).

I know for sure that the roads in Nishant Enclave (below the 74 Bungalows)
where three of my siblings reside were built under “jan-bhagidari” scheme about
five years back. The residents are an affluent and influential lot. It was to
be a cement concrete road. But the work was so shoddy that it is now hardly
better than the Ridge Road. There is no sign of the cement that was used and
one gets a shaky and bouncy ride. This is “jan-bhagidari” Bhopal-style, a
concept, if I recall, was promoted by Sheila Dixit, one-time chief minister of
Delhi. For the BMC engineers, however, it is another source of making money

So, as one climbs up for Idgah from the old Nawabi era gate, now called
Bhopal Gate, one feels as if one is in a satellite orbiting Mars. The ditches,
the one-time river valleys and the mounds on some of which the Mars rover
“Curiosity” had an excursion are all there. Here, however, the pock marked
surface with gashes and small mounds is only too close giving one a bouncy ride
in a vehicle that rattles to high heavens regardless of its age. These roads
are hard on the men who ride the vehicles, hard on the machines that drive them
and hard on their wheels.

This town is increasingly becoming out-of-bounds for the seniors. They
just cannot get out of the house. Neither can they use their two legs for fear
of causing damage to the aged skeletal shock-absorbers nor can they use their
vehicles that constantly buffet from pothole to pothole needing much more
strength to manipulate the steering than what an elderly can muster.

Thanks to our municipal engineers and their supervisors, we have evolved
into a society in which those who are charged to build urban roads wouldn’t
build them unless their cut is ensured. Hence till their deep pockets are filled
only the brave, muscular and enterprising young men and women can venture out
on to the city roads. As for our Ridge Road, I think the residents here have a
long, indefinite wait ahead for it to become fit for being called an urban passage.

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Living in Bhopal, it would seem, people are obsessed with the city’s biggest
water body, the iconic Upper Lake. It is more so in my case as every hour of
the day I find it spread right out in front of me. It is such a fascinating
sight. I have been seeing it for the last twenty years in its various moods –
lit up in sunlight and azure under a cloudless sky, somber in the moonlight,
dark and grey during the monsoon with black forbidding clouds hovering over it,
soft-focussed and diffused when it rains. My first published journalistic
effort was on it; I can never tire of writing about it. No wonder, I follow
everything that is written about it in the dailies.

The current reports reveal the callousness of people who are supposedly
charged with the responsibility of taking care of it and other random thugs of
the town who have been out to exploit its surroundings for personal gain by
nibbling away on its fringes or grabbing its bed when the water recedes during
the dry season. Thankfully the 9th July floods occurred when,
providentially, the case of encroachments on the Lake was also being heard in
the National Green Tribunal. The heavy rains filled up the Lake to its highest level,
i.e. 1666.80 ft. and many of the places grabbed that were being passed off as
outside its boundaries were flooded. As there was a controversy about its spread
a decision was taken to check the “full tank level” (FTL) of the Lake and teams
were sent out to verify the cement markers that were reportedly planted by the
municipal corporation to indicate the extent of its spread. Four teams were
constituted by the district administration for the survey.

Reports started trickling in every day about the results of the survey
only to reveal the mass-scale grabbing of the Lake’s area in almost all
directions. The surveyors could not locate many markers, numerous others were
found submerged in the waters of the Lake and several others had been overtaken
by the spreading water. All these years people have been merrily encroaching in
the areas that basically belonged to the Lake and this was surely made possible
by the support and connivance of the municipal officials. The municipal councillors
concerned also would have got their cut. Thus, those who were charged to ensure
the integrity of the Lake actively subscribe to these illegalities resulting in
shrinkage of the Lake, pollution of its waters and, of course, damage to its
eco-system.

From shanties to fairly big houses, liquor shops to shops to eating
joints, warehouses to shops selling marble slabs occupying large areas, all kinds of establishments were found merrily functioning
and well entrenched in their illegal occupations. Some of the authors of these
illegalities along the artery heading north even assaulted the municipal
officials in their agitation when they appeared with their equipment to bring
down the unauthorized and patently illegal structures. Policemen, who were
present, handled them with patience and a lot of understanding.

Demolition of houses in Khanugaon (Cf: Bhopal Notes :: 32 :: Uncivil
people of Khanugaon) were to be taken up but were postponed on the orders of
the Mayor. Here, it seems, not one marker was found by the surveyors. These
must have been destroyed by those who illegally occupied the land that
rightfully should have been within the FTL. The reason for not proceeding with
demolition of the illegal constructions is not quite clear; the most charitable
explanation could be the human problem of people becoming homeless if their
structures were demolished. It was in Kanugaon that its residents had earlier misbehaved
with the members of the Bhopal Citizens’ Forum who had gone there to check the
location of the retaining wall that was being constructed by the municipal
corporation. The Citizens’ Forum and later even the chief minister found the
wall well within the Lake. The project was supposedly prepared to provide a 2
kilometre-long pathway and a cycle track for the people with a boat club thrown
in near about. Quite clearly, as it now seems, the whole project was formulated
to protect the illegal houses from ingress in them of waters of the Lake. A
minister too reportedly supported the project. The idea was, clearly, to push
back the boundaries of the Lake. And that is why, perhaps, the residents were
so wild at the visit of the members of the Citizens’ Forum. Even the area’s
councillor was probably involved in it as he too had, reportedly, threatened
the members of the Citizens’ Forum and told them to refrain from visiting the
area again.

The findings of the surveyors are yet to be placed before the Green
Tribunal. It seems there were all-told 943 cement markers all around the Lake
and only a few more than 820 or so have been accounted for. Obviously the
missing ones have been done away with by those who waded into the Lake’s
territory to satisfy their greed. The Bhopal Municipal Corporation has shown
nothing but all round incompetence in discharging almost all its functions; it
has done more so in respect of the Lake despite being charged with the
responsibility of being its custodian. Disappearance of the markers and
whole-sale encroachments which were allowed to continue for years are testimonies
of its utter ineffectiveness. Reports have been circulating about hefty amounts
that were being paid to the municipal and government officials in lieu of their
favours.

Apart from sundry encroachments, it allowed establishment of the Chirayu
Hospital & Medical College in what now seems to be the area within the FTL.
It must have been flooded this year as the rains have been more than normal as
it was flooded even last year when the rains were sparse. A case filed against
it but seems to have had wrongly alleged that it violated the catchment area;
in fact, as it now seems, it is well within the FTL of the lake Nonetheless,
the case resulted in conviction and the
Hospital got away very lightly as it was directed to plant a few hundred trees
as punishment.

With the exposure of the lackadaisical and careless attitude of the
municipal official one can only wait and see what action is taken against those
who are responsible for the encroachments and their continuance over the years.
The Upper Lake, apart from being a vital source of water for the denizens of
Bhopal, is also an important environmental asset for them. It has a far greater
role in tempering the city’s micro-climate than what is appreciated. To tinker
with its expanse and to allow the pollution of its waters would seem to be a
serious crime against the citizens of the city.

One only wishes the National
Green Tribunal makes a comprehensive assessment of the measures taken (or not
taken) by various authorities concerned, including Bhopal Municipal Corporation,
to apportion blame on them for their failure in maintaining the integrity of
the Lake and for imposition of suitable penalties. One also wishes t the
Tribunal takes into account various tourism activities that are being conducted
in and around the Lake by the MP State Tourism Corporation against the
environmental norms and issues suitable directions.

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Najeeb Mubarki, a former journalist with the Outlook magazine has contributed a piece in the 25th
July issue of the magazine in which he has described Indian Army’s presence in
Kashmir as “most brutal and deceptive occupations of modern times”. The Outlook
magazine, in its efforts to run down the current regime in Delhi, often asks
such journalists or dignitaries to contribute pieces particularly if they add
fuel to an already raging fire. That, however, cannot be questioned; it is,
after all, a free country and everybody including the magazine and Kashmiris
have right to air their views regardless of the shade they represent. But
describing the Indian presence in Kashmir as “occupation” is certainly travesty
of facts. Perhaps, this has been said either out of sheer ignorance of the
state’s recent history or a deliberate effort to mislead the reading public.

There can be numerous opinions on whatever the Indian security force are
doing in Kashmir. The perspectives are always different depending on the side
one is on. But one thing must be realized that the Army is functioning in
Kashmir as a part of its duty to the country and Kashmir is a part of the
country. To suggest that it is an “occupation” army is an utter falsehood as
the country never fought a war against Kashmir and it was never conquered by
India.

That part of the history is never mentioned and blinkered commentators
never try to dig into it and bring it before the Kashmiri common man to
disabuse his mind of the wrong propaganda by vested interests. At the risk of
repetition, one has to bring home to the Kashmiris that the question of merging
with Pakistan or enjoying “aazadi” had been decided once and for all almost
seventy years ago and in this decision the then Indian government played fair
and absolutely by the rule. It is all there in recorded history that the late
Maharaja Hari Singh was toying with the idea of remaining independent after India’s
partition. His procrastinations made Pakistan under Mohammed Ali Jinnah
impatient who organized a raid on Kashmir by the tribal warriors, ably assisted
by Pakistani regulars and irregulars. On feeling threatened by Pakistan the
Maharaja requested for Kashmir’s accession to the Indian state. Indian
government refused to accept the request until the Maharaja obtained the
consent of people’s representatives. The most popular people’s leader Sheikh Mohammed
Abdullah was then languishing in a jail. The Maharaja consulted him who
whole-heartedly supported the move to merge with India. In the process a lot of
time was lost and the raiders were almost at the threshold of Srinagar. With herculean
efforts and enormous sacrifices the Indian Army pushed the raiders out of the
Valley which had by then become Indian territory. That is how Kashmir became an
Indian state and not a territory occupied by India after waging a war.
Describing the Indian Army as an “occupation” army, therefore, is not only
false, it also is sinister and seditious.

Perhaps, in this respect the
Indian administration as well as the state administration failed to inculcate
in the people of Kashmir the urge to view what the truth was. In the
Pakistan-inspired chaos and mayhem created from time to time Kashmiris are
instigated by its ISI or its proxies to take an antipathetic, even hostile attitude
towards the Indian security forces as this is in the interest of Pakistan.
Kashmiris need to remember that if terrorists infiltrating from across the Line
of Control and are instigating them to cause disorder and confusion the
security forces would not be sitting on their haunches to watch the show. They
have the duty to deal with them as effectively as they can even if meticulously
collected brick-sized stones are hurled at them by the maddened, unthinking
young men who are victims of whipped up emotions.

Kashmiris seem to have forgotten that it was Pakistan which made at
least three attempts to annex Kashmir and every time it was foiled by them. The
first attempt was, of course, the one when it tried to grab Kashmir by force in
1947 but succeeded in capturing only half of it and, that too, because of
puerile and immature policies of the then Indian prime minister. But then the
fact remains that at that time it was the sovereign power of the state came
seeking help of the Indian government. The second time was in 1965 when the
Ayub Khan-designed Operation Gibraltar was rendered a failure by people of
Kashmir who exposed and handed over the Pakistani infiltrators sent across to
engineer an insurgency in their Valley. Pakistan has been relentlessly trying
somehow to dislodge India from Kashmir. It unsuccessfully tried again in 1998
in the Kargil War. Perhaps, the ongoing turbulence is another effort to lead
the Kashmiris astray and work up enough loathing for India to weaken its hold
on the state.

Pakistan is doing all this notwithstanding the terrorist attacks it is
facing from Taliban. Having sown terror it is now reaping terror. Yet, when militant
Burhan Wani was killed on July 8, 2016 he was declared a martyr in Pakistan and
the date of his death was declared as Black Day with Pakistan prime minister assuring
the Kashmiris of his country’s help till Kashmir became part of Pakistan. Even
during the Indian Home Minister’s brief visit to Pakistan for the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation meeting protest rallies were organized in
Islamabad and the Lashkar e Taiyyaba chief incessantly spewed venom pledging
support to Kashmiri resistance. The Hizbul Chief admitted it had 1000 militants
operating in Kashmir Valley.

It is a pity that many of the Kashmiris actively participating in agitations against
their own Police and the Central security forces have not read the recent book “Kashmir – the Vajpayee years” by the top Indian
sleuth AS Dulat - now retired. He is one
sleuth who talked extensively to everyone including militants of all hues
trying to subvert the administration. Some of the quotes of the militants would
surely act as eye openers for those who have become extremely allergic to
India:

Hashim Qureishy, hijacker of Indian Airlines flight in 1971 said, “… Hurriyat people should give up accession to Pakistan, as should our
people. 65 years have passed, another 500 years will pass, Kashmir will never
become Pakistan. You can write it down... and people, (you) don't sacrifice
your children.” Abdul Majeed Dar, another militant was so disillusioned with
the ISI that not only he contrived to come away to Kashmir but also refused to
take its calls. Obviously the ISI found him very precious for their designs in
Kashmir and didn't want to let go him and eventually had him killed. Firdaus, assistant of Shabir Shah one of
the leading separatist leaders told Dulat that each and
every Kashmiri he met in Pakistan felt they were in an alien land. They also
advised him to never merge Kashmir in Pakistan. When he was denied SAM missiles
by the ISI he realised that it was not interested in escalating the proxy war
and was not interested in the fact that the “Kashmiris had gone all out to
fight their dirty war”

.

Kashmiris need
to pay heed to these few nuggets delivered by their own extremists as they tell
all that is there to know about Pakistan’s diabolical intentions. Hopefully,
wisdom will dawn on those who have fallen prey to its mischievous
disinformation and propaganda and are needlessly wasting away their lives.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Readers must have come across on several occasions references in these
columns to a retaining wall that the Bhopal Municipal Corporation was
constructing well within the iconic Upper Lake of Bhopal in an area that goes
by the name of Khanugaon. The stated purpose was to create a pedestrian pathway
and a cycle track of around two kilometres for the benefit of the locals. What
was clearly unstated was the plan to build a new boat club at Khanugaon. Newspapers
criticized it, environmentalists as well as local NGOs and Bhopal Citizens’
Forum were up against it. The Bhopal Municipal Corporation was, however,
unrelenting and went ahead with the construction

The matter eventually went to the local bench of the National Green
Tribunal where it is still pending. Its latest directions, given around a
fortnight earlier regarding survey of the “Full Tank Level’ (FTL) of the Lake
and marking of its boundaries after the survey, remains unimplemented so far.
Initially the Municipal Corporation dilly dallied in complying with the
Tribunal’s orders for various reasons. Eventually, it directed the District
Administration to form teams for the survey. This process itself took time as
the municipality was again evading the calls to attend the meetings. After a
great deal of procrastination four teams were formed to go about identifying
the spread of the Lake and mark its boundaries as currently the Lake has
attained its FTL of 1666.80 ft. The survey is now expected to commence from 3rd
August 2016.

In the meantime, however, the Chief Minister took time off to see for
himself what the problem was. Actually, such matters generally do not generate
enough interest among the politicians, especially the political head of the
state. Perhaps, there was a deeper political game behind it as the pedestrian
pathway, a cycling track and a new boat club at Khanugaon was the brainchild of
the erstwhile Minister for Urban Administration who has since been stripped off
of his ministerial position. The serial adverse reporting in the local press
about the controversy that brought the Municipal Corporation into very bad
light also must have played a role. The Corporation was not only unwilling to
comply with the orders of the Tribunal, it had disdain for the contentions of the
NGOs and the Bhopal Citizens’ Forum who asked it to demolish the “ecologically
dangerous” retaining wall, reportedly 10 ft. tall at some places obstructing
the free flow of water and was claimed to be on the FTL but was surreptitiously
constructed well within the boundaries of the Lake. The Commissioner stopped
the ongoing work but did not order the demolition. In this connection readers
will recall the mention that was made of uncivil behavior of Khanugaon
residents with the members of the Citizens’ Forum (Cf. Bhopal Notes 32 dated 23rd
June 2016). Obviously, the residents of Khanugaon had much to gain from the
wall and the boat club. Hence thei anger against the members of Citizens’
Forum.

Ultimately it took a visit to the site by the Chief Minister to push the
matter towards finality. One look at it and he directed demolition of the wall.
The Mayor, all the district officers, , the Municipal Commissioner and other
sundry officers were present. He gave directions to not only to demolish the
contentious wall, he also directed the officers concerned to act according to
the directives of the NGT. He also happened to see the submerged markers and
ordered that these had to be removed and planted at the places where the Lake
had spread itself to to mark its boundaries. What is more, he also directed
thatforests should be developed along the Lake shores and that strict action
against violators of the sanctity of the catchment area.

This is perhaps the first time that the Chief Minister has intervened in
a matter regarding conservation of the environment of the city. The
intervention will be fruitful if the whole thing is thoroughly probed to
identify the officer who was responsible for this misadventure. The earlier
commissioners of the Corporation have reportedly denied any responsibility. The
one who approved the project is reported to have said that he was told the wall
would be at FTL. Obviously, he had not checked the detailed project proposal.
Quite clearly the project was being implemented in deviation of the proposal approved
by the Centre. The charges of the vernacular press that the very custodian of
the Lake was out to strangulate it are largely true. Worse, in the process
public money and public resources were wasted on a project that could never
stand against a proper environmental scrutiny. Exemplary punishments for the guilty
officials for erecting the wall well within the FTL of the Lake need to be taken.
Simultaneously those who have encroached into its catchment area have to be
ousted.

Hopefully, the state government will not allow the matter to rest with
the issue of oral directives of the Chief Minister. It needs to ensure that
such unwise constructions never again take place in and around the Lake, its
surroundings are covered by plantations to the extent possible and the
catchments are cleared of encroachments in compliance of the directives of the
Chief Minister. It also needs to release the report of the Centre for Environmental
Planning & Technology on conservation and development of the Lake for the
information of the general public.

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About Me

There would seem to be no point in talking about the position I used to hold. What is more relevant today is that I am retired from the service of government of India where I worked for thirty four years in senior positions ending just below the top of my department. I retired more than twenty years ago. To be fruitfully engaged I took to blogging and writing articles, initially, on local issues but now for years I have been writing on topical and environmental matters. The writings in the local supplement of a national daily gave me some kind of a positive identity in the town which culminated in my being nominated to be a founder member of Bhopal Citizens' Forum, a powerful pressure group. I am , I think, fruitfully engaged and I have no complaints against life.